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James reminds his readers that those who were obsessed with worldly pleasures were
friends of the world and enemies of God, for this world system is Satan inspired and
entirely anti-God. God's enemies would certainly not get satisfactory answers to their
prayers! We remember that the Lord Jesus said "because ye are not of the world . . . . .
therefore the world hateth you" (John 15: 19). The antidote to all this wrong thinking and
action is grace and the spirit of humility:
"Wherefore the Scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the
humble" (4: 6).
It is significant that we find the same words in I Pet. 5: 5, the repetition showing how
important is the truth expressed in these verses.
The A.V. of James 4: 5 presents a problem:
"Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?"
There are few people who have not had a difficulty in understanding this verse. It is
not easy to associate envying or lusting with a holy God, that is if the word `spirit' is a
direct reference to the Holy Spirit. On the other hand the word could be a reference to
the sinful state of mind of the unregenerate and of the old nature in the believer. The
Companion Bible has a note here which says "this can only refer to the general testimony
of Scripture that the natural man is prone to selfish desires leading to envy of others who
possess the things desired". We feel this is the answer that fits the context. Certain it is
that wherever we find pride mentioned in the Bible it is unreservedly condemned by God,
for it was the parent sin that caused the fall of Satan. The Lord will not tolerate the
exaltation of self. God brooks no rivals and nothing is truer than the old saying that
`pride goes before a fall'.
On the other hand the truly humble will `submit themselves to God' (4: 7) realizing
that His will must always be paramount and His infinite knowledge of our real needs is
past our understanding. We are not surprised therefore that James continues with "resist
the devil and he will flee from you". Satan knows only too well that if he encourages
pride in the believer, a voluntary submission to the Lord and His claims will be
impossible. The Apostle Paul stressed this when he wrote to Timothy warning him not to
appoint one who was a novice, "lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the
condemnation of the devil" (I Tim. 3: 6). The big "I" has been the undoing of many a
believer. May we all seek grace to manifest constantly the real spirit of humility found in
the Lord Jesus Christ.